Fixing investgation must be thorough

Stuart Hess says the investigation into match fixing must be done properly, even if it takes some time.

|||

As much as we - the media and the public - would like it, Cricket South Africa has to be thorough in its investigation of the match/spot fixing scandal that has engulfed this season’s RamSlam.

We want names, we want details and we want players and whoever else may have been involved, banned and jailed. Unfortunately it’s not so simple.

In order to arrive at that outcome the investigations that are taking place must be thorough. That nature of the approaches Gulam Bodi - the intermediary - is alleged to have made to former teammates need to be clearly understood.

What did he say? When did he say it? How was what he said interpreted by the people he spoke to? Did they immediately report the approach? Did they just dismiss it as a joke? Was the protocol that dictates that any approach, regardless of the nature, be reported within 48 hours by a player? What if a player disregarded the approach, thought nothing of it and when the news first broke back in November only then realised he should report it, what punishment does he deserve? There will be, as one colleague wrote yesterday, many players sweating about their future, if they were in anyway involved with Bodi and did not follow protocol.

Cricket South Africa is understood to be confident it caught the problem early enough. But how can it be so sure? It is for that very reason that the investigation needs to be thorough and if it takes a few months longer than we would like, then so be it. Match/spot fixing must be expunged at all costs for the reputation of the sport is at stake.

The suits at Cricket South Africa already have a lot on their plates dealing with concerns that domestic players - black and white - are upset about a perceived lack of playing opportunity, that the standards of domestic cricket seem to have declined and the national team is in the doldrums.

It can ill-afford the most popular domestic competition - the only one broadcast outside of South Africa - being clouded by this. It must get the investigation right, and the public - which is being asked to show patience on a great many issues regarding cricket at the moment - will just have to do the same in this case.– The Star